One of four Mexican quickies that the 81-year-old Boris Karloff appeared in before his death in 1969, two of which, THE FEAR CHAMBER and HOUSE OF EVIL, escaped release. He plays a scientist who invents a machine which can render useless the destructive powers of enemy weapons. He has humane
purposes for the device, but the military has other ideas. A flying saucer lands, and aliens take over the bodies of a maniacal killer (Beirute) and Karloff. Blaming Beirute's murders on the scientist, the villagers destroy the laboratory. The evil forces attempt to do in Karloff and his daughter
(Linder) but, recovering, he turns the machine on them. He destroys the machine after using it for evil purposes, fearful that other aliens will try to steal it away. An extremely inept picture, which could have been much better. Approached by Mexican director Vergara, Karloff read four scripts,
all of which he rejected. After they were rewritten by Hill, Karloff agreed to do them, but on the condition that he would not have to leave Los Angeles (due to his poor health). An agreement was reached, and Karloff's scenes were filmed separate from the production which was underway in Mexico.
Karloff soon died, however, and Vergara shortly afterwards succumbed to the same fate. The footage, without Hill's knowledge, was re-edited, additional scenes were added, and the story rewritten, bearing no resemblance to the approved projects. A sad way for Karloff to make his exit, but
thankfully, he never saw these pictures. Utterly disrespectful.
